THE EXPERIMENT

Original Game & Analysis Project

Milestone 4 Final – GDD
Game Design II
Justin Deines
0004811854

Table of Contents
Overview ..................................................................................................................................................... 2
Theme ......................................................................................................................................................... 3
Detailed Mechanics ..................................................................................................................................... 4
Goals .....................................................................................................................................................................4
Rules .....................................................................................................................................................................4
Actions ..................................................................................................................................................................4
Transitions .............................................................................................................................................................5
Items .....................................................................................................................................................................6
Setup .....................................................................................................................................................................6
Milestone 2-Alpha Playtest Report .............................................................................................................. 7
Individual Playtests ................................................................................................................................................7
Analysis ............................................................................................................................................................... 11
Action Plan .......................................................................................................................................................... 12
Milestone 3-Beta Playtest Report .............................................................................................................. 13
Individual Playtests .............................................................................................................................................. 13
Analysis ............................................................................................................................................................... 17
Action Plan .......................................................................................................................................................... 18
Milestone 4-Final Playtest Report .............................................................................................................. 19
Individual Playtests .............................................................................................................................................. 19
Analysis ............................................................................................................................................................... 23
Action Plan .......................................................................................................................................................... 23
Overall Average of time spent in game: ..................................................................................................... 24
 THE EXPERIMENT GAME DESIGN DOCUMENT
Overview
THE EXPERIMENT is a 3D puzzle game that puts the player into a strange small room. The room seems
ordinary, but a little odd. Around the room there are paintings on the walls, a random chair in the
center, a door that leads to a maze, a paper with information on how to navigate the maze, a table
with a radio on top, and potted plants. When the player starts to explore the room, they should notice
the paper that is in front of the door that holds the information needed. If the player explores more,
they will realize that they can interact with the radio on the table. Upon turning it on the will receive a
Morse Code message. This is an Easter egg that holds information for the player if they can decipher it.
After exploring the room, the player will be faced with the maze to try and escape. Throughout the
maze the player will find more notes on the floor that are story breadcrumbs to entice the player to
want to learn more about what is actually going on. The real point of THE EXPERIMENT is to initially see
what the player will do with the information provided at the beginning of the game. Will they Obey or
will they Defy. Once they beat the maze for the first time, they will want to go back in and play again,
especially if they obey during the first playthrough. At the end of the maze if they decide to obey, the
player will be met with text stating that they escaped, but are they really out? This should make the
player rethink what they did and want to go back. If the player tries to go back through the maze, they
will notice that the doorway is gone, and they are trapped. If they go down the defy path, they will end
the game in a room with monitors implying that they had been watched. They will then leave the room
to the real outside world and met with text stating that they do not really know what really was going
on in that place. This leads me us to the curious path. If the player at any time decides to stray from
either path the things guiding the character will disappear completely leaving them with no real
direction. The purpose of this path however is to lead the player to explore and initially find out
information about this place they are in. I strongly believe that curiosity should be rewarded.
Throughout the entire maze there will be other rooms to explore and information to uncover.
Theme
In THE EXPERIMENT, I wanted to use basic mechanics to convey Déjà vu. With nothing but their
movement and their memory the player must travers a maze to get them through the game. The player is
challenged about every 10 seconds to think of where to go next based on the colored paintings shown on the
walls at the forks in the path. The repetition of choice throughout, should give the player that sense of Déjà vu
this theme is asking for.

The Dynamics in THE EXPERIMENT I find very interesting. Based on the name alone I came up with a
scheme of, “what will the player do with the information given to them.” At the beginning of the level there is
a paper on the floor that gives instructions on how to travers the maze. The kicker is that the player will not be
punished if they choose to defy the rules. Rather you will find a more compelling and mind-bending
experience if you choose to defy the rules. All choices in the game lead to a different experience making the
dynamics very important. How they relate to déjà vu is simple, no matter what they choose the maze still feels
the same. To experience everything the game provides they will just have to play it more than once to figure
out all the secrets that are hidden. With the end text alone, whether you Obey or Defy it should leave the
player wanting to explore more.

The Aesthetic of, THE EXPERIMENT, and how it relates to déjà vu is based off what the player decides
to do with the information given in the beginning. Regardless of choice, each path seems similar just with a
different outcome. In my experience with déjà vu in real life, I would have dreams at night that seemed so
real, but I would end up just writing it off as just a dream. It is not until months later when that dream
becomes a reality that I realize that I just had a “déjà vu” moment. What is strange is that even though I know
I had been there before I would notice differences in how it played out in real life. Another example is the
movie, The Matrix, and the quote, “Something has changed.” What it has to do with this game is the same
premise, you go down one path it looks exactly the same as if you were to go down the other the only
difference is that the end result has changed. To truly experience this feeling of déjà vu would be to play again
and uncover its true nature.
Detailed Mechanics
1. Move - The player can move around the 3D space in first person view.
2. Look/Memorize – The player must be aware of their surroundings. On the floor is a detailed list
of how to navigate the maze. Colored pictures on the walls determine what way is the “right
way.” By memorizing this list, they can choose how the go about traversing the maze.
3. Interact – The player can interact with certain items in the game by clicking on them, such as
turning on a radio.

Goals
The goal of the game is to escape the maze however the player chooses to do so.

Rules
Win/Lose - Do what you desire based on the information provided. In retrospect you only win
when you feel like you have won, and you lose only when you feel like you have lost.
Actions
Players can walk.
Players can interact with objects.
Transitions
How the game transitions from one state to another
• Between entering the room to interacting with objects.
• From the room to the maze.
• From the maze start to the Obey path.
• From the maze start to the Defy path.
• From the Obey path to the Curious path.
• From the Defy path to the Curious path.
• Players can transition from menu to controls or quits to main menu.
• If player obeys to the end, they are prompted with text saying, “You escaped, but are
you really out?”
• If player defies to the end, they are prompted with text saying, “You escaped, but I
wander what was really going on?”
• If the player wants to quit any time during the game they go to options menu and
choose quit to main menu. Once at the main menu they can quit the game.
Items
Everything the player can interact with
• Door
• Radio
• Papers
• Monitors
• Back Painting

Setup
The room will be small with all items neatly scattered in the room. The table will have a radio
placed on it. The chair will be in the center of the room with a paper with vital information
close to it and the door. The lights are on, the door is shut with the maze just beyond it, and
painting hang on the walls with different colors displayed on them. The player is in a corner of
the room, and is able to see everything.
Milestone 2-Alpha Playtest Report
Individual Playtests

Playtest # 1
Name: Downey
Age: 24
Gender: Female
Gaming Experience: RPG, FPS, Action, Platformer
Time to Complete: 3 minutes and 53 seconds.
Path Chosen: Obey
Observations:
1. Tester talked about light blinking in room. This must be a clipping problem, however tester
liked the light blinking and said that it made the room feel eerie.
2. The tester did interact with the radio on the table but did not know Morse Code, nor did they
try and figure it out.
3. The tester did find the instruction but had trouble reading them.
4. The tester did go off course and ended up a little lost but eventually found way out.
5. Tester wanted to see something to indicate that they made it through the maze. Or a “Win
Scenario.”

Difficulty: 3 out of 10
Enjoyment: 6 out of 10
Likes: Environment, Interactable Objects, Freedom of Movement.
Changes: More objects to interact with throughout level.
Playtest # 2
Name: Garanham
Age: 31
Gender: Male
Gaming Experience: RPG, RTS, FPS, Action, Platformer, Turn Based
Time to Complete: 4 minutes and 26 seconds.
Path Chosen: Obey
Observations:
1. Tester did find the paper on the floor with instructions.
2. Tester did not interact with radio on the table.
3. Tester felt like a rat in a maze.
4. Tester did not stray from the Obey path.

Difficulty: 4 out of 10
Enjoyment: 8 out of 10
Likes: Visuals, Tone, Exploration
Changes: More exploration and extra things to find.
Playtest # 3
Name: Micieli
Age: 39
Gender: Male
Gaming Experience: RPG, RTS, FPS, Action, Platformer, Puzzle
Time to Complete: 6.23
Path Chosen: Obey
Observations:
1. Tester got stuck and struggled on getting out of maze after straying off the path.
2. Tester Interacted with radio, but did nothing to figure out the Morse Code.
3. Tester was not able to interact with paper with instructions.
4. Strayed from due to no instruction. The paintings disappearing disoriented tester.
5. Made it to Defy ending with trial and error.

Difficulty: 7 out of 10
Enjoyment: 9 out of 10
Likes: Puzzle aspect, Mental parts, Level Design
Changes: Fix trigger volume on paper instructions.
Playtest # 4
Name: Hoover
Age: 34
Gender: Female
Gaming Experience: RPG, Action, Platformer, Puzzle
Time to Complete: 5.34
Path Chosen: Obey
Observations:
1. Tester did find paper instructions but with difficulty due to trigger volume issue with paper
instructions.
2. Tester interacted with radio, but did not try and figure it out.
3. Tester thought the paintings in the room were interactable based on instructions.
4. Tester followed Obey path to the end and did not stray from it.

Difficulty: 4 out of 10
Enjoyment: 10 out of 10
Likes: Puzzle, Morse Code, Design
Changes: Paper Trigger Volume needs adjustment.
Analysis

During the tests I noticed that all players followed the Obey path based on the given instructions. Out
of the four tests, two people strayed from the path given, both by accident. Out of those two, one made it to
the Obey ending and one made it all the way to the defy ending. Three out of the four testers did interact with
the radio, but none pursued further in figuring out the Morse Code. During some of the tests I noticed some
issues with the trigger volume on the paper interactable. All four tester really enjoyed the game and once
completed hoped for more. The range of difficulty varied per player based on what happened in the
playthrough. The players choice whether it be on purpose or on accident should increase the level of difficulty
to a manageable state. The enjoyment of the level was very positive. Now that all tests are completed, I can
draw a conclusion that I will need more interactable objects throughout the level to further explain the place
the character is in. The current difficulty could be ramped up just a little bit. Based on the enjoyment I
conclude that no real drastic changes need to be made at this time. I also conclude that the trigger volumes
may need adjusting.
Action Plan

Based off my conclusions and analysis of week one’s playtests:

• I will need to make some adjustments to trigger volumes on the interactable objects.
• I also will need to add more interactable objects in the game to further the story and emersion of the
player.
• I will need to create proper endings to my different paths in the game as well as add a way to exit the
game with menus.
• On the play test-form, I plan on having a section where I ask the player why they chose the path they
went on to better understand why they made that choice.
• I may also want to add a question of what they thought about the radio and the Morse Code.
• Lastly, I will want to add the question, based off the ending you got, does it give you incentive to play
again, and why?
Milestone 3-Beta Playtest Report
Individual Playtests

Playtest # 5
Name: Judge
Age: 20
Gender: Male
Gaming Experience: RPG, RTS, FPS, Action, Platformer
Time to Complete: 7.21
Path Chosen: Defy
Observations:
1. The sounds were a little loud.
2. Needs a pause feature.
3. Fix trigger volume on radio.
4. Seemed to think the pictures in the room were the pictures to follow.
5. Went off course.
6. Got a little turned around.
7. Made it to the end in the Obey Path.
8. Player did not try to turn around to go back.

Difficulty: 7
Enjoyment: 7
Why path was Chosen: He wanted to Defy the instructions.
What did player think of radio: Liked the hidden clue.
Based on ending, did they want to play again and why: Yes, because he felt there was more than one
ending.
Likes: Mystery, Defiance, Repetition
Changes: Length of the halls.
Playtest # 6
Name: Anderson
Age: 28
Gender: Female
Gaming Experience: Action, Platformer, Adventure
Time to Complete: 4.42
Path Chosen: Obey
Observations:
1. Fix triggers on paper and radio in the room.
2. Spelling errors and grammar issues on the papers and documents.

Difficulty: 2
Enjoyment: 9
Why path was Chosen: Because the game told her to do so. She likes to follow directions.
What did player think of radio: Didn’t understand it.
Based on ending, did they want to play again and why: Yes, feel like there is more to explore.
Likes: Notes, Main Room/Hallways, Blackout effect.
Changes: Add a random color that has no direction to further confuse the player.
Playtest # 7
Name: Church
Age: 30
Gender: Female
Gaming Experience: RPG, RTS, FPS, Action, Platformer
Time to Complete: 5.21
Path Chosen: Obey
Observations:
1. Wishes you had to click on documents and papers to interact and read them instead of them
just popping up.
2. Add mouse controls to controls tab. Didn’t know you could use the mouse to rotate camera.

Difficulty: 4
Enjoyment: 8
Why path was Chosen: Likes to play Chaos Neutral paths first.
What did player think of radio: Knew it was Morse Code just didn’t know what it meant.
Based on ending, did they want to play again and why: Yes, there was obviously more to the game.
Likes: Riddles, More than one path, Ambiance
Changes: Interaction with papers instead of Pop-ups.
Playtest # 8
Name: Turrcotte
Age: 38
Gender: Male
Gaming Experience: RPG, RTS, FPS, Action, Platformer, Sports, Puzzle, Adventure
Time to Complete: 5.00
Path Chosen: Defy
Observations:
1. Player did not explore the room.
2. Player did not get the radio Easter egg.
3. Player seemed to choose defy by accident do to forgetting the color scheme.
4. Player went off course.
5. Player still made it to Defy ending.

Difficulty: 5
Enjoyment: 6
Why path was Chosen: Tried to do what he was told.
What did player think of radio: Didn’t interact.
Based on ending, did they want to play again and why: Yes, felt like there was something more.
Likes: Music, Vagueness of letters, Sterile Nature.
Changes: Wishes there was a collection system for the papers.
Analysis

During the tests I noticed some differences from last weeks tests. At least two of the testers took the
defy path even if one of them did it by accident. Out of the four new testers, two people strayed from the
path. Just like last week only three out of the four testers interacted with the radio. During the tests I noticed
tom conflicting trigger volumes with the radio and paper on the same desk. Based on one test I realized that I
needed to increase trigger volume on obey ending and block off area to avoid exploration of that ending. The
enjoyment of the level to most tester was about the same as last week. All testers actually wanted to ply again
based off their endings because they thought there was more to the level that they missed. In conclusion, the
feedback tells me that I am heading in the right direction. I feel I have some small work to do but it is all.
manageable.
Action Plan

Based on my conclusion and Analysis for this week:

• I need to add a pause function to my game.
• I need to add mouse functionality to my controls tab.
• I need to fix trigger volumes on radio and paper in main room.
• I want to add a clue to the mores code on radio to see if it changes anything.
• I need to update some questions on Form.
Milestone 4-Final Playtest Report
Individual Playtests

Playtest # 9
Name: Church
Age: 32
Gender: Male
Gaming Experience: RPG, RTS, FPS, Platformers, Puzzle, Text Adventure.
Time to Complete: 10.37
Path Chosen: Defy
Rooms Found: Red Room, Green Room, Blue Room.
Tried Again: No
Observations:
1. Player Interacted with all objects in the first room.
2. Player took the Defy Path by accident.
3. Player seemed lost and got stuck once the diverted from the path.
4. Player kept getting back to the Purple Room.
5. Player made it to the Obey Ending.

Difficulty: 5
Enjoyment: 4
Why path was Chosen: He just guessed.
What did player think of radio: He knew it was Morse Code but had no idea what it meant.
Why did you try/not try again: He would have played again because he is thorough but did not try
again due to time constraints.
Story: Some sort of Mind Control.
Likes: Controls, Music, Writing
Changes: More interactable objects.
Playtest # 10
Name: Deines
Age: 25
Gender: Male
Gaming Experience: RPG, RTS, FPS, Platformer, Puzzle.
Time to Complete: 7.50
Path Chosen: Obey
Rooms Found: Blue Room.
Tried Again: Yes
Observations:
1. Player explored the main room and interacted with everything in it.
2. Decided to explore and defy the obey path.
3. Player seemed to enjoy the twist and turns laughing while playing.
4. Got the Obey ending.
5. When Player tried to retry the level player could not move and had to reload game.

Difficulty: 2
Enjoyment: 10
Why path was Chosen: The colors told me to go that way.
What did player think of radio: Knew it was Morse Code but no clue what it meant.
Why did you try/not try again: The text at the end made him want to try again to see if he missed
anything.
Story: Character is in some sort of Experiment.
Likes: Options, Music, Short Game with massive story.
Changes: Make it so you can decipher the Morse Code.
Playtest # 11
Name: Bumbalough
Age: 25
Gender: Female
Gaming Experience: RPG, RTS, FPS, Platformer, Puzzle, Text Adventure.
Time to Complete: 20.43
Path Chosen: Obey
Rooms Found: Red Room.
Tried Again: Yes
Observations:
1. Player explored the entire room in the beginning.
2. Player followed obey path and was able to remember color scheme.
3. She made it to the ending of the obey path.
4. When Player tried to retry the level player could not move and had to reload game.
5. Player retried to game to go another way.
6. Player stubbled upon the text Morse code and spent 10 minutes on googling the translation.
7. She figured out the Morse code.
8. She went off the defy path to explore and found the Red Room.
9. She made it to the Defy Ending.

Difficulty: 8
Enjoyment: 10
Why path was Chosen: To see what happened when following the instructions.
What did player think of radio: I knew it was Morse code and after finding additional clue I googled it
to translate.
Why did you try/not try again: I wanted to see what happened if I didn’t do as I was told.
Story: There was an experiment.
Likes: Morse Code, Minimalism, Multiple Options.
Changes: More hints scattered throughout the level to help figure out the Morse code.
Playtest # 12
Name: Deines
Age: 20
Gender: Female
Gaming Experience: RPG, RTS, FPS, Platformer, Puzzle, Text Adventure.
Time to Complete: 7.15
Path Chosen: Obey
Rooms Found: Purple Room.
Tried Again: No
Observations:
1. Thought the paintings on the walls in the main room were apart of the instructions before
interacting with door.
2. Player did not explore the main room.
3. Player was stuck in the beginning of the level.
4. Player went off course and started to get lost.
5. Player made it to the Obey ending.

Difficulty: 6
Enjoyment: 10
Why path was Chosen: Following the rules.
What did player think of radio: Did not interact.
Why did you try/not try again: Didn’t know there was another path.
Story: Felt she was stuck in a psych ward.
Likes: The letters, The Rooms, Color Scheme
Changes: Different interaction in the game.
Analysis

In this week’s testing, I noticed a variety of differences on how the players chose to play. Some Obeyed
while others Defied. Some players explored more while others didn’t. The most interesting test was the last
one. The tester had no experience with computer games and struggled with the controls at first. And her input
at her ending was interesting, “Yay I made it out.” Se felt she had won the game which further iterates what I
was going for in the goals of the game. Most players didn’t get the full experience and uncover all the secrets.
It led them to a different conclusion as to what the story was actually about. I was happy to see one tester
actually try to figure out the Morse Code Easter egg I planted in the game and succeeded. I noticed one tester
gave me a four on enjoyment, but the reason behind the lower score was due to him not really enjoying these
types of games however, he like the amount of effort was put into the story and the different smoothness of
the controls. I realized right on game load the Credits popped up right away and I need to go in and fix that. I
also noticed that when a player hit the “Try Again” button the player could no longer move.

Action Plan

In conclusion I feel like I won’t need to change much, but I will need to fix these issues:
• Uncheck the Credits image on main menu.
• Add code to game manager that un-pauses game at start.
• Build up the level a bit more and polish the game with better assets.
• Add additional sounds to the game with interactions.
Overall Average of time spent in game:
12 Testers

Average overall time: 7.22